


misunderstandings

by thisprentiss



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: Awkwardness, F/F, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Misunderstandings, Trans Female Character, guilty of lesbian ian on main!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 05:41:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13629831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisprentiss/pseuds/thisprentiss
Summary: barbara and ian are both too awkward for their own good. the doctor and susan try to help them work it out.





	misunderstandings

**Author's Note:**

> its 1:47 AM in the morning but i am AWAKE for that wlw barbara/ian content! and by that i mean i couldnt stop thinking abt this and had to write it,, i will probably edit at some point in the morning to Fix any Mistakes  
> also if u follow me on @lesbiantwelve u will know that im guilty of trans lesbian ian chesterton on main so i use she/her pronouns for that character in this,, in case that was Cause for any Confusion

The Doctor found Barbara sitting on the counter in the kitchen eating pistachio ice cream directly out of the tub with a butterknife.

Before he could ask, she idly licked another scoop off the knife and said, "All the spoons were dirty."

"Understandable," the Doctor said, allowing a small chuckle as he lingered in the doorway, "Are you alright, dear girl? You seem distraught."

"I'm fine, Doctor," Barbara poked at several loose pistachios, not looking up at him.

"Fine, hmm?" he said, bypassing the food machine he'd come for in favor of finding something in the fridge, "Now Miss Wright, in my experience, a young woman sitting in her pajamas eating ice cream in the glum manner you are is anything _but_ fine." He settled on a leftover tupperware of hummus and chips.

Barbara sighed and watched the Doctor walk over to the counter and awkwardly hop himself up to sit next to her. When he was settled, he gave her an expectant look. "I'm fine, Doctor, really. You're being silly."

"Am I? Hm. You know, I don't believe there's anything particularly silly about worrying for a friend," he said as he dipped a chip, tossing it in his mouth when he was finished. Barbara continued to stare down into her ice cream.

"You don't need to worry about me. I'm just..." she stopped for a moment, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, "I'm just upset for a _very_ stupid reason and I'm embarrassed to talk about it."

The Doctor nodded in understanding. "Did you finally finish Friends?"

She elbowed him in the ribs, "Oh shut up."

"I was only joking! I know it wasn't Friends," the Doctor laughed, shaking his head. Then after a moment, "It was The Office, wasn't it?"

"Doctor!" Barbara laughed this time, rolling her eyes.

"That's enough to put _anyone_ in a bad mood, I tell you, Susan cried for _days_ when she finished that show!"

"Oh shove off, Doctor!"

"I'm only saying..." the Doctor put his hands up in surrender, pleased to see Barbara smiling. After a moment, though, the smile faded.

"I..." she started, stopping and stabbing the knife into the ice cream, "I asked Ian to be my girlfriend."

The Doctor feigned shock. "Oh?"

Barbara nodded with a sigh. "I know, out of the blue, right?"

"I never would've guessed," the Doctor lied.

"We were just talking and- oh, I don't know why I did it, I suppose I just figured- well- you know, I thought she might feel the same way about me, but-" her voice cracked and she bit her lower lip, "But I suppose I was wrong, wasn't I?"

"Well what did she say?"

Barbara let out a cynical laugh, chin quivering. "She just _stared at me!_ And she gave me this long 'ohhhhh' like she was realizing I'd misread our situation, and- and then she just _left!_ God, Doctor, I've ruined everything!"

She dropped her head onto the Doctor's shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her comfortingly. "Now now, dear, I'm sure you haven't ruined _everything_."

"But I _have!_ " Barbara cried, "Things are never going to be the same between us!"

"Maybe you didn't misread the situation you think you did," the Doctor suggested, and Barbara looked up at him in confusion. "You said you misread the feelings the two of you had for each other, but if I'm allowed to say, my dear... I don't think you've done anything of the sort. You may have misread Chesterton's _response,_ though."

"I don't think I did, though, Doctor. I- I just don't know."

"Well have you tried talking to her about it?"

 

* * *

 

"And you just _left!?_ "

"I didn't know what else to do!"

Susan slammed her face into the pillow in her arms several times, sighing in frustration. "Ian, you're hopeless!"

"Stop that, I'm already embarrassed enough about it!" Ian groaned, falling back on Susan's bed with her hands over her eyes, "I didn't think she _liked me_ like that, Susan!"

"Are you _blind_ , Ian!? Barbara's fancied you since before I got to Coal Hill!" at Ian's shocked face, Susan rolled her eyes, "God, this is utterly ridiculous. You two have been giving each other heart eyes this entire time, I'm shocked it's taken this long for one of you to make a move."

"But how do I know she actually... you know, _likes me_ -"

"Ian, you absolute _dumbfuck_ , she asked you out!" Susan cried, letting out a laugh, "Is this how stupid I sounded with Marco Polo's caravan?"

Sitting back up, Ian rolled her eyes. "Ping Cho was more straightforward, that's why you sounded so ridiculous. But Barbara-"

"Asked you _out_ _!_ " Susan said, puffing her chest out, "Bleh mleh, Ping Cho was more straightforward, I'm Ian Chesterton and I'm the most oblivious lesbian in the galaxy, _god_ ," she collapsed over her pillow again, flinging her arms around, "Just tell the woman how you feel about her before she resigns herself to thinking you don't like her back!"

"But-"

" _Ian._ "

 

* * *

 

Walking cautiously into the observatory, Ian found Barbara standing by one of the circular windows staring out at the stars. Stopping to stand next to her, Ian took a nervous deep breath, letting it out with a glance in Barbara's direction.

"So, uh..." she started, and Barbara looked up at her, making her stomach drop.

"Ian, I'm sorry," Barbara sighed, "I shouldn't have just... just done that without warning or-"

"No, Barbara, it's fine. _I'm_ sorry that I- you know. Ran. You just surprised me, that's all."

Barbara chuckled humorlessly, turning back toward the window, "Yes, I- I'm sorry. It did... it did hurt a little, but I understand why you did."

"I didn't mean to hurt you," Ian looked down at her shoes, chewing on the inside of her cheek, "I _am_ sorry."

They stood in silence for a long minute, staring absently toward the stars as the TARDIS slowly drifted through space. Finally, Barbara cleared her throat. "Ian, I hope this doesn't change anything between us. I mean... can we still be friends?"

"Well- no, Barbara, I don't want to be your friend," Ian started. Barbara cut her off with a sharp laugh.

"Let me down lightly, huh?"

Realizing what she'd said, Ian shook her head quickly, "No, that's not-"

"Kind of felt better when you _ran_ , Ian!"

"Barbara-"

She whirled toward her, anger and hurt riddled across her face, "If that's how you feel, _fine_ , just- at least be civil with me? I'm sorry I fucked things up so badly between us, but I don't think it's fair that you-"

Ian leaned forward and kissed her, cutting her off mid-rant. Barbara froze, blinking several times in shock. Before she had time to react, Ian had pulled away.

"Sorry, I just- you wouldn't let me explain, so-"

Barbara grabbed Ian's face and crushed their lips together again, shutting her eyes tight and feeling joy and relief and a hundred other things washing over her.

When they pulled apart they both laughed, foreheads touching.

"Right, I guess-"

"That's what I meant when I said I didn't want to be your friend."

They grinned at each other and kissed again, this time soft, _gentle._

_And utterly perfect._

**Author's Note:**

> barbara: ian i'm in love with you and i want to spend the rest of my life with you  
> ian, a useless and oblivious gay: hm! i think she might like me maybe a little bit!


End file.
